The Works

Social Media in Public Works 101 - Social Networks: LinkedIn

Many of the public works professionals I've talked
to have heard of LinkedIn — the online professional networking site. But not
many are really sure what to do with it. Some have joined, filled out their
profile, and little else. Others haven't joined, but regularly receive invites
from their colleagues asking to connect through LinkedIn. If you've been
wondering just what it's all about, pull up your office chair, grab a coffee,
and get comfortable. We're going to give you the introductory tour and then walk
you through the initial joining phase.

BackgroundLinkedIn was
established in 2003 to connect professionals around the world. Today, LinkedIn
represents a network of more than 160 million professionals. Now you might be
thinking, why do I need a website to keep track of my colleagues when I've got
my trusty rolodex of cards or email contact list? One reason might have become
apparent over the last few years — people are no longer staying with the same
employer for very long. So unless you're sent new contact information every time
someone gets a new job, it's easy to lose track of those valuable contacts. And
a good business network takes years to cultivate; you don't want to lose those
connections just because they move into another position.

ProfilesOne of the most valuable components of LinkedIn is
the profile feature. Because people who join can fill their profile with a photo
and information about their experience, expertise, background, former employers,
and interests, it's a great place to learn about or review your contacts'
work-related details. This is useful when reconnnecting. But it's also helpful
for people trying to expand their network. And the next time you see someone at
a public works event and can't remember exactly where they work or what they do,
you can look up their LinkedIn profile for a quick review on your
smartphone!

GroupsLinkedIn allows
members to create and manage their own groups. These groups can represent
interests, professions, companies, and many other topics. Managers can add
others to help manage the group, and can establish the group as public, open to
anyone, or private (membership-only by invitation or approval after a request to
join has been accepted). Groups are great for encouraging open discussion,
getting answers to questions, or just keeping track of what's going on in that
specific area. You can access the continuing group discussions on the site or
have summaries of each discussion emailed to you on a daily basis. (PUBLIC WORKS
magazine has a small but growing group on LinkedIn, click here to join.)

Q&AsWhile groups are
great for tapping into the collective mind of members, there is also a
question-and-answer feature on LinkedIn. Anyone can ask a question, and anyone
can answer a question. While this feature is useful for those looking for
information, others providing answers can use it to help establish their
expertise in that subject.

JobsAnother huge value
from LinkedIn is the ability to find or post jobs. If you're looking for a new
job, you can regularly check postings using the site's search function. Or you
can have LinkedIn send you regular job postings you might be interested in based
on your profile.

So let's join this
thing!If you're not already a member, and any of the above
has interested you enough to want to at least check it out, let's walk through
how to join. First travel to the site by clicking http://www.linkedin.com./
Your screen should look similar to the image in this post. The site makes
signing up fairly fast and easy process. Just fill in your first name, last
name, email, and choose a password. Then, thinking that more than 160 million
people can't be wrong, click the "Join Now" button.

Edit your
profileYour main page should have a horizontal menu at the
top — this is your route to other areas in LinkedIn. Once you are in, one of the
first tasks to complete is filling out your profile. Click on the "Profile" word
in this menu to reveal the drop-down menu and choose "Edit Profile." This takes
you to your profile screen where you can input all the information about you
that should be shared with your business colleagues. The layout is similar to
that of a resume, offering you places to input your work experience and
education. Because we've got some more exploring to do, don't worry about being
too detailed right now — you can always come back and add information later.

Group upThe next step is to find at least one group to join.
Click the "Groups" word at the top of your screen. This brings up a drop-down
with several choices; click "Groups Directory." This takes you to a screen
showing Featured Groups. And look, over there on the left, LinkedIn has placed a
"search groups" window. We are going to make use of that search to look for
groups related to what we do. You can type in any public works-related term. I
tried "transportation" and got 2,501 results! A search for "public works
magazine" takes you to PUBLIC WORKS' group. Once you find a group that looks
good, go ahead and click the "Join" button. Some groups require approval to
join, so depending on the group, you might have to wait to get your request to
join approved. Some groups are open and allow anyone to view and comment on
their discussions without having to join. You can join up to 50
groups.

The other key
point to groups is that you can receive summaries of the group discussions in
your email. Then you can click back to the site and read the information and
provide your own comments. But not everyone wants more email (remember our first article in this series?). Fortunately, you can manage
your group notifications in settings. This can be found by hovering over your
name in the upper right corner of the screen and clicking "Settings" from the
drop-down menu. In your settings page, click "Groups, Companies, &
Applications" in the menu on the bottom left. Then click "Set the frequency of
group digest emails." You can choose from "No Email," "Weekly Digest Email," or
"Daily Digest Email."

Connect and
networkOK, the last part is connecting to someone. It would
probably be best to begin by searching for someone you know who you think might
be on LinkedIn already. Just go to the main LinkedIn page and type in their name
in the search box at the upper right-hand corner. There is also an advanced
search available that allows you to search for people using key words and
location. If you cannot find anyone, you can certainly connect to me. Just make
sure you choose the option to add a message to your invitation, and mention that
you read the PUBLIC WORKS magazine article and would like to connect. Once you
connect with your colleagues, you can send them messages through LinkedIn or
provide recommendations for each other.

ExploringIf you've followed these suggestions, you are well
on your way to making the most of LinkedIn. Once you feel comfortable with the
site, you can also check out the jobs section or even search to see if your
employer already has a company page. And if you have a question or just get
stuck somewhere, LinkedIn has a useful Help Center — just scroll to the bottom
of the site, and on the bottom menu look for and click "Help
Center."

About the Blogger

A former senior editor of PUBLIC WORKS, Pam Broviak publishes the Public Works Group Blog at http://www.publicworksgroup.com/blog. (All views expressed in this blog are her own and not those of PUBLIC WORKS.)